Very poor recent purchasing experience for ST2S

[Kevin Patrick]

Just had a terrible experience with California Bicycle in La Jolla (California) where I purchased a Stromer ST2S, and the experience with Stromer wasn’t much better. As people in this forum know, a big part of what is attractive about the ST2S is its “connectivity” via the Omni system. This allows an app to do things like remotely lock and unlock the bike (and check to see its lock status), change various performance settings, and locate it via GPS. After purchasing the bike I rode it ~8 miles home and immediately found that the bike had no connectivity to the Omni system. (My cell phone was doing fine.) So the same day I purchased the bike I called California Bicycle and they gave me the tech support # for Stromer, USA. I called them and – after some off/on efforts, removing the battery, etc. they confirmed that, indeed, I didn’t have connectivity in my home in Del Mar. I should wait until the next day and try connecting again. The next day I tried again. No connection. Stomer said in effect: “Well, looks like you don’t have this at your home.” Thus I need to ride someplace else to do anything with the app.

The more I though about it, the more I felt that not having this key feature wasn’t acceptable to me for a $10,000 bike. So I emailed California Bicycle three days after buying it (and before their third business day) letting them know that I would like to return it. They responded in effect: no returns/no exchanges/no exceptions. And that: “…connectivity is out of our control”. In essence: it’s Stromer’s fault. They put me in touch with Stromer who said that they acknowledge that connectivity is an issue in some places and they will have a fix for this sometime in early 2018. They offered this fix “for free” and not the ~$650 charge. (Why should I even need to pay for this if what was advertised as a key function of this high-end bike was not provided to begin with?)

So… Even though the bike only had the 8 miles from their shop to my house, and one additional 12-mile trip, California Bicycle refused to take responsibility for the problem, refund the purchase price, and perhaps sell it again to someone who has connectivity. When pressed they came back with an offer to sell it on consignment for me – essentially as a used bike - with a 15% profit off the top. Really.

This has been the single worst customer experience at a bike shop that I have had in about 30 years of such experiences. Either California Bicycles or Stromer needs to take responsibility for delivering on what is promised. To have neither one do this is very troubling.

 

[siclmn]

California does have a "lemon law" would that help you?

 

[smitty]

Just had a terrible experience with California Bicycle in La Jolla (California) where I purchased a Stromer ST2S, and the experience with Stromer wasn’t much better. As people in this forum know, a big part of what is attractive about the ST2S is its “connectivity” via the Omni system. This allows an app to do things like remotely lock and unlock the bike (and check to see its lock status), change various performance settings, and locate it via GPS. After purchasing the bike I rode it ~8 miles home and immediately found that the bike had no connectivity to the Omni system. (My cell phone was doing fine.) So the same day I purchased the bike I called California Bicycle and they gave me the tech support # for Stromer, USA. I called them and – after some off/on efforts, removing the battery, etc. they confirmed that, indeed, I didn’t have connectivity in my home in Del Mar. I should wait until the next day and try connecting again. The next day I tried again. No connection. Stomer said in effect: “Well, looks like you don’t have this at your home.” Thus I need to ride someplace else to do anything with the app.

The more I though about it, the more I felt that not having this key feature wasn’t acceptable to me for a $10,000 bike. So I emailed California Bicycle three days after buying it (and before their third business day) letting them know that I would like to return it. They responded in effect: no returns/no exchanges/no exceptions. And that: “…connectivity is out of our control”. In essence: it’s Stromer’s fault. They put me in touch with Stromer who said that they acknowledge that connectivity is an issue in some places and they will have a fix for this sometime in early 2018. They offered this fix “for free” and not the ~$650 charge. (Why should I even need to pay for this if what was advertised as a key function of this high-end bike was not provided to begin with?)

So… Even though the bike only had the 8 miles from their shop to my house, and one additional 12-mile trip, California Bicycle refused to take responsibility for the problem, refund the purchase price, and perhaps sell it again to someone who has connectivity. When pressed they came back with an offer to sell it on consignment for me – essentially as a used bike - with a 15% profit off the top. Really.

This has been the single worst customer experience at a bike shop that I have had in about 30 years of such experiences. Either California Bicycles or Stromer needs to take responsibility for delivering on what is promised. To have neither one do this is very troubling.

Something is definitely not right here. I have had nothing but superlative performance when contacting Stromer. I did have to replace my Omni unit because it too was failing to connect. They sent me a new part, tool to extract the start-up button on the bike, and directions for removing and installing the new unit. It leads me to wonder how long the shop had the bike in stock. I am about 4-5 hours from the nearest dealer so I was in DIY mode and it worked out fine on my ST-2; love the bike, but could not agree with you more on the 10K price tag absent the Omni connection...dealer sounds lousy...should make it right one way or the other!

 

[john peck]

Thought about it, now kinda glad I didn't go Stromer.

 

[whitexkr]

I agree you have received poor customer service, especially from the bike shop, and there is no excuse for that on any, let alone a $10K bike purchase.

One suggestion: make sure you are out in the open outside your home. I found that I cannot connect in my garage.

Nevertheless, I have found that I do not use the app much at home, but I do use it when out riding. If the connectivity works when you are out, just not at home, I do not think you will missing out on very much. If the connectivity did not work at all it would be a totally different story.

 

[jazz]

Ouch! that sucks

 

[bob armani]

Just had a terrible experience with California Bicycle in La Jolla (California) where I purchased a Stromer ST2S, and the experience with Stromer wasn’t much better. As people in this forum know, a big part of what is attractive about the ST2S is its “connectivity” via the Omni system. This allows an app to do things like remotely lock and unlock the bike (and check to see its lock status), change various performance settings, and locate it via GPS. After purchasing the bike I rode it ~8 miles home and immediately found that the bike had no connectivity to the Omni system. (My cell phone was doing fine.) So the same day I purchased the bike I called California Bicycle and they gave me the tech support # for Stromer, USA. I called them and – after some off/on efforts, removing the battery, etc. they confirmed that, indeed, I didn’t have connectivity in my home in Del Mar. I should wait until the next day and try connecting again. The next day I tried again. No connection. Stomer said in effect: “Well, looks like you don’t have this at your home.” Thus I need to ride someplace else to do anything with the app.

The more I though about it, the more I felt that not having this key feature wasn’t acceptable to me for a $10,000 bike. So I emailed California Bicycle three days after buying it (and before their third business day) letting them know that I would like to return it. They responded in effect: no returns/no exchanges/no exceptions. And that: “…connectivity is out of our control”. In essence: it’s Stromer’s fault. They put me in touch with Stromer who said that they acknowledge that connectivity is an issue in some places and they will have a fix for this sometime in early 2018. They offered this fix “for free” and not the ~$650 charge. (Why should I even need to pay for this if what was advertised as a key function of this high-end bike was not provided to begin with?)

So… Even though the bike only had the 8 miles from their shop to my house, and one additional 12-mile trip, California Bicycle refused to take responsibility for the problem, refund the purchase price, and perhaps sell it again to someone who has connectivity. When pressed they came back with an offer to sell it on consignment for me – essentially as a used bike - with a 15% profit off the top. Really.

This has been the single worst customer experience at a bike shop that I have had in about 30 years of such experiences. Either California Bicycles or Stromer needs to take responsibility for delivering on what is promised. To have neither one do this is very troubling.

Kevin Patrick-

Perhaps you could contact your local BBB or local Attorney Generals Office for assistance if the business refuses to cooperate. I always check return policies before purchase for further protection in the event the deal goes south. We are talking about 10K here!! I am really surprised the LBS would not try to work with you on this. If you purchased the Stromer with your Visa CC, you can request it as a disputed item and it can go into arbitration. The CC people are usually very cooperative in assisting their cardholders with a rogue purchase like this one. Good Luck! Please keep us all posted!

 

[Kevin Patrick]

Thanks to all of you for your helpful suggestions! And for understanding this predicament. I'll keep you posted on how things go...

 

[bluecat]

After purchasing the bike I rode it ~8 miles home and immediately found that the bike had no connectivity to the Omni system.

Does this mean, the initial OMNI registration was made at the shop? This task could be done by yourself - but the shop must be able to do this.

Apart from this, it's possible that your mobile phone provider does not support the OMNI - and where your home is, no other provider has an antenna. The good news is: OMNI is able to receive updates even when you ride. The other thing: Bluetooth is still in the pipeline.

 

[tenroz]

I also am having a very bad Stromer experience. I purchased a demo Stromer St1 Platinum with very low miles under warranty back in Jan. 21 2018. Since day one the battery would not charge up to 100%, so I took it to the one and only local dealer in my area. They told me a wire was bad and did replace that along with a new battery charger.....still this didn't fix the problem at all. And now I am having still another issue ...when I reach speeds of 17.7 mph it acts like the brakes are being applied every time.
I have called Crazylennyebikes for weeks now trying to remedy the situation and they say they can't do anything unless they can diagnose it by their shop in order for them to get the needed replacement parts. I bought this e-bike in good faith that everything was in working order. The manager even told me Stromer"s either work or they don't. Well, it seems I am at wit's end on how to fix this new bike now. I must have gotten a lemon and I don't feel I am being fairly treated by this company now. If my e-bike is supposed to be under warranty it sure doesn't feel like it now. The owner of the store said he would give me 75% back on the bike if I returned it to them......this also seems so unfair and a loss of more money and shipping too since I live 2,000 miles away from this company. A decent reliable company should stand behind their products after the sale too...... this one has fallen short in a big way. Crazylennysebikes and Stromer have lost me as a customer forever I think now. Buyer beware.

 

[smitty]

This is sad...and compounded by purchasing off of the internet as opposed to a local bike shop. Unfortunately Stromer does not have a large presence in the U.S. and dealers are few and far between. So many of us have purchased via the internet with free shipping in some cases. I did so by purchasing an ST-2. Initially I had some electrical gremlin problems which were mostly solved by removing, then reinstalling the battery. At some point my OMNI failed and I called Stromer. They shipped a new unit, the tool to remove the Omni, and instructions for replacement with the understanding that I could either take it do a "dealer" or replace it myself with the full understanding that if I did a DIY job, they would no longer have any responsibility with respect to the warranty. I am 5 - 6 hrs from the internet dealer that I dealt with, so I chose the DIY route and it was pretty easy to take out the old unit and install the new one. I found Stromer to be very helpful every step of the way and I have had a number conversations with them via e-mail on other issues...e.g., I wanted to have a few extra spokes for the rear wheel and an inquiry led to them sending me 4 or 5 at no charge. I would call them, especially so about the 17.7 mph and the braking effect. It sounds like a problem with the regen braking or perhaps the torque sensor?? You also may want to do some research on the "codes" for the ST-1 and simply try to reset to the factory settings. See the following:

https://newwheel.net/questions/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=14286852

Failing all else, check out bike flights.com and send the bike back to CrazyLenny's for repair under warranty with the expectation that they should pay shipping charges back. Wish you the best of luck, knowing that it is very frustrating, but it is a great bike. The manager must be a loon to make the comment he did "Stromer's either work or they don't" They are a far better Company than that!

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I also am having a very bad Stromer experience. I purchased a demo Stromer St1 Platinum with very low miles under warranty back in Jan. 21 2018. Since day one the battery would not charge up to 100%, so I took it to the one and only local dealer in my area. They told me a wire was bad and did replace that along with a new battery charger.....still this didn't fix the problem at all. And now I am having still another issue ...when I reach speeds of 17.7 mph it acts like the brakes are being applied every time.
I have called Crazylennyebikes for weeks now trying to remedy the situation and they say they can't do anything unless they can diagnose it by their shop in order for them to get the needed replacement parts. I bought this e-bike in good faith that everything was in working order. The manager even told me Stromer"s either work or they don't. Well, it seems I am at wit's end on how to fix this new bike now. I must have gotten a lemon and I don't feel I am being fairly treated by this company now. If my e-bike is supposed to be under warranty it sure doesn't feel like it now. The owner of the store said he would give me 75% back on the bike if I returned it to them......this also seems so unfair and a loss of more money and shipping too since I live 2,000 miles away from this company. A decent reliable company should stand behind their products after the sale too...... this one has fallen short in a big way. Crazylennysebikes and Stromer have lost me as a customer forever I think now. Buyer beware.

I fwd'ed your concern to Lenny.
He called me back today morning and asked me to respond to your thread and lenny said he will send you a brand new bike if you can ship your old one back.

 

[Stromer2work]

Stromer have lost me as a customer forever I think now. Buyer beware.

Until such time, Crazylennysebikes and Stromer have EARNED me as a customer forever. Buyer be AWARE.

 

[smitty]

Ravi's a good guy and knows a good bit about the Stromer make. He has always been a real jewel on this forum with lots of good insights; I hope it all works out and good for Crazy Lenny on making things right...

 

[TForan]

Using the EBR megaphone often gets results.

 

[surfstar]

Great to hear about the Crazy Lenny support!
I have 450 miles on my ST1, bought from them, and just got a "no_com" error. Tried replacing the display battery, unplugging/replugging wires, etc - no luck.
Local shop prefers not to work on bikes not bought through them, but I think I gotta ask them to diagnose it for me. I mean its under warranty, they're a Stromer dealer...

 

[Chuck E. Cheese]

Using the EBR megaphone often gets results.

The squeaky wheel gets the Tri-Flow.

 

[J.R.]

I think it's a little unfair to Lenny's to suggest one needs to go to a public forum to get action. I've been a Lenny's customer going on 3 years and have referred several friends there as well.

My 9 month old BH bike blew out its controller. I wasn't sure at the time what the problem was, so I called Lenny on a Sunday, Lenny answered his own phone on a Sunday. I explained the problem, he said he would look into a solution for me. The next day, Monday, Len had the tech manager of Easy Motion call me on the phone. With the symptoms he was sure it was the controller. They sent me a new controller with instructions from the west coast to the east coast and I was back riding the bike the following Saturday. 6 days total. No emails, no public pronouncements or pressure, just good fair service.

Thanks Lenny and BH!

 

[bob armani]

I think it's a little unfair to Lenny's to suggest one needs to go to a public forum to get action. I've been a Lenny's customer going on 3 years and have referred several friends there as well.

My 9 month old BH bike blew out its controller. I wasn't sure at the time what the problem was, so I called Lenny on a Sunday, Lenny answered his own phone on a Sunday. I explained the problem, he said he would look into a solution for me. The next day, Monday, Len had the tech manager of Easy Motion call me on the phone. With the symptoms he was sure it was the controller. They sent me a new controller with instructions from the west coast to the east coast and I was back riding the bike the following Saturday. 6 days total. No emails, no public pronouncements or pressure, just good fair service.

Thanks Lenny and BH!

I also stand behind him as well. I have purchased 2 bikes from him and they have served me well. In any case, give him a chance and he will make it right. He has sold over 5000 bikes and his reputation stands behind it for being a great service provider of E-bikes as well. Good Luck!

 

[McSpiffy]

I also stand behind him as well. I have purchased 2 bikes from him and they have served me well. In any case, give him a chance and he will make it right. He has sold over 5000 bikes and his reputation stands behind it for being a great service provider of E-bikes as well. Good Luck!

I'm extremely pleased with the service & commitment from Lenny & Ravi with my ST2S. I'm also impressed with their resolve to assist "Tenroz" with his issue.

Too often we only hear of the negative issues with a bike/store/vendor and not the positives. This should be a testament to Lenny and his business of the excellent customer service they provide!